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Okay, so my character was bitten by a werewolf and failed his will save at level 2. I just turned level 4 and I has gone through two moon cycles and has gained the ability to shift between forms and my gracious GM lets me remain in control of my PC while in hybrid form. Now I have a couple of questions.
My first question is what to do with my character. I was originally going to go pure Oracle but now I'm thinking that I should go Rage Prophet. While I know thats not the greatest class, it seems like there is a lot of potential given my current situation. My current character is bellow.
lvl 4 Halfling Dual Cursed (Lame/Tongues) Nature Oracle.
Normal form: Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10 (8 base +2 from Lycanthropy), Cha 17 (18 base -2 from Lycanthropy +1 at lvl 4)
Hybrid form: Str 16, Des 14, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 14 (12 wolf base +2 Lycanthropy), Cha 17
Feats: Combat Casting, Extra Revelation (Misfortune)
Revelations: Bonded Mount, Nature's Whispers, Misfortune
Spells: Lvl 1-Ill Omen, Divine Favor, Inflict Light Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Burning Disarm. Lvl 2-Oracle's Burden, Lesser Restoration, Cure Moderate Wounds.
Mount: Wold that was killed/captured in an attempt to find my lost companions, I am going replace it with a dog.
I was going to take two levels in Barbarian (Drunken Brute) then go Rage Prophet. I have to take the Moment of Clarity Rage Power but I was also considering the possibility of taking Extra Rage Power (Ferocious Mount). Then for my other feats I was looking into Raging Vitality (to help survivability) and Boon Companion (to make up for the 2 lost levels of Barbarian). But I'm not sure what else to do.
My first question: The rest of my party was captured/killed by the enemy while I was off doing a side quest (I missed the previous session) and they are all making new characters. How do I try and prevent their new PCs from slaughtering my character once they find out about my... gift? While I wouldn't be upset if they killed my PC I would like to prevent it. I was thinking about trying to say that I am was given the power to shape shift by my deity Gozreh. I also have bear traps, lots of bear traps that can help protect me while I sleep. Any other suggestions?
Note: The Drunken Brute Archetype is for fluff. He is going to take up drinking after losing his AC and his adventuring party. It also helps me mitigate the effects of Ferocious Mount since I wont have a lot of rounds of rage.
Edit: I have basically been a front line fighter. I ride in on my AC then try to kill stuff dead as best as possible.
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What kind of characters are the new PCs? Some types might just need to know that you have useful skills and aren't going to attack them in their sleep (or in a rage). Others might be more worried about your general morality. Others might be prejudiced against lycanthropes and would be very hard to convince if they recognized your condition.
That said, your fellow players should be at least accommodating enough of your condition to not actually kill you because of it.
Lycanthropy is meant to be a curse, so make sure you play it like it is, because if you are always in full control then all that really happened is your character got a significant buff.
Lycanthropy is meant to be a curse, so make sure you play it like it is, because if you are always in full control then all that really happened is your character got a significant buff.
I respectfully disagree, yes its supposed to be a curse BUT there are many that enjoy the power it gives them, at the expense of possibly unwillingly changing and loosing control. So you raise your will save as much as possible (its a dc 15 save during every full moon and any time you take damage) sleep in silvered masterwork manacles during a full moon, what ever it takes until you can get your base will save up to a 14 (cause even if you roll a 1 you still make the dc) if you really want to go into barbarian then that's up to you but every time you are damaged in battle you run the risk of loosing control so I would suggest investing in a cloak of resistance to give you a better chance. At any rate your character doesn't have to look at it as a curse if he would prefer to see it as the silver lining of an otherwise dark cloud of loosing his friends. Maybe this give you power to take revenge on those enemies. Maybe this new party are a group of people you have searched out specifically for this goal and in that respect they are ok with your "curse"
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Lycanthropy can work differently in different settings, so ask your DM to what extent you're supposed to be playing this as a struggle of control.
what ever it takes until you can get your base will save up to a 14 (cause even if you roll a 1 you still make the dc)
Saving throws automatically fail on a 1, no matter what your modifier is.
Lycanthropy is not really worth the CR adjustment unless you take one of the better animals as your base creature, such as something with either an alternate movement mode, or something with pounce. for example leopards have both pounce and a climb speed. and a sufficiently sized bird can provide you with a fly speed.
Ah ok so you will always have that 5% chance of loosing control but that's better than the 55% chance you have now (+2 from your wisdom and +3 from your class if I added it right) with a 25k purchase of a +5 cloak of resistance you could knock that down to a 30% chance (again if I've done my math right) but as a lvl 4 character that's a big hit to your expenses.
Lycanthropy is meant to be a curse, so make sure you play it like it is, because if you are always in full control then all that really happened is your character got a significant buff.
Looking at what his build was before, it was a nerf if anything; he lost 2 from his primary casting stat that was an 18 (a huge loss from a point buy perspective), and in return he got his Wisdom back to a 10 (oh boy) and the ability to lose his spell casting and become a sub-par melee character.
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Lycanthropy is meant to be a curse, so make sure you play it like it is, because if you are always in full control then all that really happened is your character got a significant buff.Looking at what his build was before, it was a nerf if anything; he lost 2 from his primary casting stat that was an 18 (a huge loss from a point buy perspective), and in return he got his Wisdom back to a 10 (oh boy) and the ability to lose his spell casting and become a sub-par melee character.
To top that off the only bonuses I get while in Hybrid from are a bite attack, DR 5/Silver, +2 Str, +3 Con, and +4 Wis. While that seems like a lot I'm a small character so a +2 Str doesn't give me a huge bonus to my damage, my bite attack is made at a -5 if I use a manufactured weapon in the same round (which I will always do), and having a 14 Wis is nice for will saves but not much else in my case.
The only real benefits I get are the DR 5/Silver and +3 Con. Both basically let me last longer in combat since I'm pretty suboptimal front line fighter to begin with. And that all came at the cost of my 18 Cha in point buy which really sucked.
Also, I really can't walk around in hybrid from with my bonuses because I'm sure I would be cut down pretty quickly by anyone we encountered.
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Yeah, I agree this isn't much of a buff for your character. You say the DM is allowing you to control your hybrid form - is there still a risk of losing control during the full moon? If so, that's something you'll need to plan for and I'd definitely invest in the manacles.
Again, what role does lycanthropy play in the game world? And do you know what the classes, alignments, and most importantly personalities of the rest of the party is going to be like? These concerns will determine how you should handle the situation going forwards.
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All I know is that one is going to be a wizard, but not sure of the race. I think another is going to be a Tattooed Sorcerer but I'm not sure. And I have no idea what the other two will be. Everyone died on Wed of this week and we aren't meeting again until Wed of next week (we play weekly), at which point I will know what they all are.
As for the role of lycanthropy, we are playing in a Kingmaker campaign. We are only doing the first book and then we are going to do a homebrew that combines more of the kingdom building with adventuring.
Also, the manacles are a really good idea just incase he decides to throw a curve ball at me if my guy proves to be too powerful, which I doubt will happen.
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Maybe you could just die or something, and come back as another character. Seems like a pretty crappy condition to have all told. It might possibly be of very minor benefit to a melee character, but for a caster it is awful.
I could retire him, that is a possibility. If I rebuild it is a level 3 and as it stands I have the option of being an awakened Giant Centipede with an Int 13 and Cha 5. The question would then be what class to give him? I can also be a Grig (probably with 3 class levels), a faerie dragon (can take a class level once the party levels up to 4), a kobold, a mite, or any core race (but thats no fun).
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I would prefer not to retire my character though. Just curious what interesting/fun characters I can make from the above.
I was thinking Faerie Dragon/Vivisectionist that makes Con boosting Mutagens. Then put my level 4 stat increase into Con, that would make my Euphoria something to be reckoned with. I could do something similar with the Giant Centipede except be a Barbarian rather then a Alchemist to boost my Con.
But like I said, I would prefer to keep my character as he is.
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I personally always advise against dropping a character that you're enjoying playing if you run into minor mechanical difficulties. And the situation is by no means impossible.
Your physical ability scores are solid, especially if you can use hybrid form. The rage will help. Depending on the new party members, you can slant your role more to offence or defence with new combat feats and spell choices. I can't see anything in Rage Prophet that gives you extra rounds of rage, so you might want the Extra Rage feat. Also consider Extra Rage Power since your Rage Prophet level stacks with your Barbarian level for these powers. Is lame your primary curse, the one that improves with level? If so, you're immune to fatigue at level 5 oracle, or on taking your first level of Rage Prophet. That makes coming out of rage a lot softer. And the dog will be a nice melee buddy.
It's also excellent thematically. Oracle of nature is cursed with the spirit of the wolf and, pushed to drink by a crushing loss, discovers a well of fury within himself.
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It's also excellent thematically. Oracle of nature is cursed with the spirit of the wolf and, pushed to drink by a crushing loss, discovers a well of fury within himself.
Thats what I was going for. As for the extending rage, its a 6th lvl ability in Rage Prophet that lets me sacrifice spell slots to extend my rage. By the time I get that ability I will have 4th lvl spells so it shouldn't be too bad. As for the curse lame is my primary so that will be nice for the rage. Finally I was looking through feats and I came across Bolstered Resistance and it seems like it would be really nice considering that I am immune to fatigue.
Lycanthropy
Type: curse,injury; Save: Fortitude DC 15 negates, Will DC 15 to avoid effects
Onset: the next full moon; Frequency: on the night of every full moon or whenever the target is injured.
Effect: target transforms into a wolf under the GM's control until the next morning
here's a link to the page if you need to look over it d20pfsrd
Instead of killing your character off, maybe see if the DM would let you rebuild him; like have there be some down time where you get used to your condition that causes you to rethink your path in life.
And then rebuild as something that isn't horribly gimped because of it.
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Bolstered Resistance would be nice, especially with your fatigue immunity at level 7. (I'd take Power Attack at 5.) Remember that monsters having DR/silver or anyone wielding a +3 weapon will also be able to bypass your DR, so it might be less relevant at higher levels, depending on your opponents.
I'd still consider Extra Rage, because otherwise you'll have only 7 rounds of rage between levels 6 and 11, and unless you have very little combat that will run out fast. Just keep an eye on how quickly you use your rage, and how many spare spell slots you expect to have available to sacrifice for when you hit level 12.
here's a link to the page if you need to look over it d20pfsrdLycanthropy
Type: curse,injury; Save: Fortitude DC 15 negates, Will DC 15 to avoid effects
Onset: the next full moon; Frequency: on the night of every full moon or whenever the target is injured.
Effect: target transforms into a wolf under the GM's control until the next morning
It sounds like the DM is allowing for greater control of this curse than is RAW. Which is a fair call given that the PC isn't getting much of a boost out of this and might be unplayable otherwise. But yes, it is a good idea to be very, very clear on the exact amount of control you're going to have.
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Well I put my favored class bonuses into oracle, which for a halfling is +1/2 level for determining curse abilities. So I already have immunity to fatigue. While I have the fluff benefits of Drunken Brute it also allows me to stretch out those 7 rounds of rage at the cost of a move action. While I don't get any full attacks I get an attack and my mount can attack so thats something.
Extra Rage really does seem like a good choice, the only problem is that there are quite a few other good choices (by good I mean helpful). Like Power Attack would make me slightly more effective in combat, Bolstered Resistance will help with survivability Raging Vitality, and Boon Companion will give me a better mount.
So many feats, yet so few feat slots available...
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You could nab the Demonic Obedience feat, choose Jezelda, and upgrade to a True Lycanthrope.
Yes that sounded awesome until I read her Obedience.
Under the night sky, you must offer up prayers to the moon. On nights when there is no moon, you must supplement your prayers by sacrificing an intelligent creature of your own race by tearing out its throat with your teeth and feeding on the still-warm body. Gain a +4 profane bonus on all saving throws made when the moon is visible in the night sky.
Why does worshiping a CE Demon always have to be so... CE?
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Okay, so I just found out that one of the other guys is going to be a Half-Orc Paladin. Most likely he will be playing a lawful douche. He is a great guy (been friends for years) and it will probably be a great character to play in the party with but I'm sure he'll kill me on sight. So, the question is now this: how do I kill the Pally before he kills me? or how do I hide my identity from the Pally so no one has to die? He starts at level 3 and I'm not sure of any specifics.
Why would the DM let him do that?
Also, playing a Lawful Douche equates to "suddenly you lose your powers" as far as Paladins go.
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Worshipping Jezelda in that way is going to make it much more likely that your teammates will try to kill you.
Again, check with your GM about when you need to make saves to stay in control. He might be lenient in the interest of allowing you to continue this character. It sounds like the negative reaction from others is going to be enough of a curse as it is, without being almost guaranteed to turn on your friends in combat.
Feat choices can be tricky. Since you're already immune to fatigue, I'd say it's a toss-up between Power Attack and Bolstered Resistance at level 5. Maybe make the call depending on whether you expect to be the heavy hitter or the tank in the new group. The other one is probably your 7th level choice. Raging Vitality is a nice insurance against dying when you fall unconscious and rage ends, but since you need to keep spending rounds of rage it might not be there when you need it for as long as you need it. Since your Rage Prophet levels stack with Oracle for Revelations, your dog will only be at character level - 2, so Boon Companion might not be worth it.
The Drunken Brute ability is going to be helpful for extending your rage, but a move action is a steep cost, and while you're immune to fatigue you aren't immune to nausea.
EDIT: Glad to hear the Pally's a Redeemer. Like Icyshadow I was wondering why the GM would let him create a character who would kill you on sight, or allow a Paladin to do so without falling.